


The Fundamentals of Not Caring

by Ashrocksit08



Category: Runaways (TV 2017)
Genre: Attempted Sexual Assault, F/F, deanoru - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-23
Updated: 2018-01-25
Packaged: 2019-03-08 15:43:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13461384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ashrocksit08/pseuds/Ashrocksit08
Summary: Nico Minoru doesn't care about Karolina Dean, but that night she saved her.orIt's kind of an AU of sorts where Nico is the one who saved Karolina from those jocks at the party and not Chase. PRIDE isn't evil either, but Karolina is still an alien and Nico will still have the staff of one...eventually.





	1. Chapter 1

Nico Minoru doesn’t care about Karolina Dean. 

Sure, the two of them had been friends when they were younger, they didn’t really have a choice in that since Alex’s parents had seen their PRIDE meetings as a win/win in terms of getting shit done in the philanthropy world and getting your nerdy kid some instant friends. Nico wished she could say that it hadn’t worked, that even back then they were all too different, but their differences didn’t matter -- they all clicked. Of course there were preferences; Amy and Alex, despite their age difference were as thick as thieves. Chase, Gert, and Molly liked to pretend that they got on each other’s nerves, but it didn’t stop them from somehow always gravitating towards one another. Then there was Karolina and Nico. You could say they were kind of left gravitate towards each other by default and maybe they were, but there was no denying that they just sort of fit naturally in ways neither of them could ever put into words or ever tried to for that matter. Nico could talk to Karolina about anything back then, and vice versa. Which made it that much more surprising to see her trashed at a party, so wasted that she needed two guys to even hold her up when she’d always been adamant that getting fucked up for the sake of it wasn’t something she was even remotely interested in. Two guys who had started to usher her upstairs. 

That wasn’t good. 

Nico wasn’t one to stereotype people, (mostly because she tended to mind her own business) but the fact that she definitely had seen said two guys clandestinely high five one another with their free hands set off more alarm bells than Nico even had time to process. 

Nico Minoru didn’t care about Karolina Dean, but she’d pushed her way through the party and up the stairs all the same. 

_There’s two of them and one of me._  
Karolina’s trashed so she probably won’t be any help if shit goes down.  
They’re athletic and if I hesitate for a second things can get worse than they already are. 

All of these thoughts ran through Nico’s head as she took the stairs two at a time while readying the pepper spray she had on her keychain in one hand, and her phone in the other. She didn’t really have a plan, not really, not aside from get Karolina the hell out of there. Finding the room they were in wasn’t hard, they were in the only one that had an actual door, a door Nico flung open to a sight that made her want to rage and throw up at the same time; Karolina with her shorts down and the two guys hovering over her, one of them unbuckling their belt, “What the f---“ 

“You have three choices, assholes; keep going while I live stream to the whole school and the cops. Keep going and get your asses pepper sprayed to high hell. Or get the fuck away from her and go.” Nico wasn’t about to give them a chance to think it over, the adrenaline coursing through her body had her stepping forward, finger on the button of the pepper spray. 

“Fuck this, man.” One said. 

“Yeah, we’re leaving. Be cool, nothing happened.” The other added while they both scurried off, hands up in defense while Nico stared them down, not dropping her hands until they were out of the room. 

Once they were gone, Nico released a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding then knelt down on the bed, dropping everything to re-dress the still passed out blonde, “Karo, hey, wake up. Please wake up.” She seemed to be trashed, completely gone, which wasn’t ideal considering how big Karolina was in comparison to herself. It was around the time when she snapped her Gibborim bracelet back on her wrist that Karolina started to come to. 

“Nico?” She asked confused, “What happened, where a—“

“Nothing happened, but you’re drunk or high or something and we need to go, come on.” Nico told her, and she actually made an effort to not sound as harsh as she usually did to people while still getting across the urgency in her instruction. 

“Drunk? N—“Karolina tried to protest as she sat up more, getting her wits about her slowly but surely, but Nico cut her off, “Look it doesn’t matter, no judgment, let’s just get you on your feet.” 

Karolina didn’t feel great, she actually felt weak and the last thing she remembered before passing out were the lights, were they radiating off of her? That couldn’t be right? That was impossible. But Nico was there, and she was helping her on her feet and she looked concerned for her, and she called her Karo, which was like music to her ears, and with one of the shorter girl’s arms around her waist, and her arms around her shoulder, Karolina wasn’t sure that she could blame all of the lightheadedness on her passing out. 

Nico Minoru doesn’t care about Karolina Dean.

But that night, she saved her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for everyone who took the time to leave kudos and comments on the first chapter, I love you all and I love this fandom (seriously, we are small but we are mighty). Hell, shout out to everyone who even took the time to read my humble contribution to getting through this hiatus until season 2 together. If anybody wants to talk about Deanoru things or Runaway things in general, my inbox is open and I hope you enjoy this next chapter.

Karolina Dean did not miss Nico Minoru.

 

Being Nico’s room didn’t bring back memories of staying up late, watching dumb movies and talking for hours on end. As Karolina laid curled up in the fetal position in Nico’s bed the blonde didn’t remember playing ‘Sorry’ at one of their slumber parties and getting so mad that she’d cursed for the first time because Gert sent her back to the start for the hundredth time. She didn’t remember late night cookie capers with Amy and Nico where she would be the point person who stayed upstairs in case one of their parents came out, which, when she thought about it was a terrible idea since Karolina was an awful liar; If they had ever gotten caught they would have been in trouble all the same. She didn’t remember crying on the same bed in front of Nico while she vented about how hard it was to be the ‘Gib freak’ in school sometimes, she didn’t remember Britney Spears karaoke or playing ‘light as a feather’ after watching ‘The Craft’ (Nico’s favorite movie) for the first time -- she didn’t remember any of it.

Because Karolina remembered all of it.

So much had happened that night, so much that she couldn’t even begin to try and wrap her head around, but all of it was almost dwarfed by the fact that she was in Nico’s room again, and it felt…good. If she closed her eyes and pushed out everything else, she could pretend that years hadn’t passed, that she hadn’t been where she was now in years, that Amy was just downstairs, and that Nico was still her Nico, the girl she knew better than anyone else on the planet.

 

When Nico came back up with a bottle of water in hand Karolina sat up and took it, thanking her shyly. She took a seat next to Karolina on the bed, and Karo couldn’t help but smile a bit because even if she’d seemingly changed so much, some things stayed the same -- like the fact that Nico did understand the concept of personal space.

“What?” Karolina asked curiously, tilting her head to the side slightly, feeling her cheeks warm under Nico’s gaze.

“What?” Nico repeated with all the false righteous indignation of someone who hadn’t just gotten caught staring.

“You want to say something. Say it.” Karolina urged her, Nico had been her savior that night and as far as she was concerned, the girl could ask her whatever she wanted.

“I just didn’t know that as your scene now. I know you keep saying you didn’t drink or take anything but come on, you were passed out. Maybe you had one beer and somebody slipped something in it.” She tried to supply, it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility all things considered. 

“It’s not my scene! I know I passed out, but I didn’t take anything, I swear on my life. I just wanted to try something new, do something everyone else was for a change. It’s just…” Karolina bit down on her bottom lip, debating on if she should say something to Nico about the lights. They weren’t friends, not anymore, but that didn’t mean Karolina wanted Nico to think she was some crazy person, but she didn’t want her to think she was a liar either. Aside from that, she hadn’t even worked through things in her own head yet.

“It’s just what?” Nico pushed on, but tried to be gentle in her tact, there was no telling what Karolina would say, but what she could tell was that whatever it was made her nervous.

“You’re going to think I’m crazy.” Was the blonde’s weak response in an effort to stall for just a little bit longer. 

“Try me.” Nico told her and her whole body shifted to give Karolina her full attention.

“So I was just looking around, there was a guy who offered me drugs, some sort of pill, but I didn’t take it.” She started, and wanted to stress again that she wasn’t on anything. “I was just sort of taking everything in. First real party you know?” For some reason, admitting that then and there sort of embarrassed Karolina though she didn’t know why, Nico knew that she wasn’t a party girl by any stretch of the imagination. It just sounded sort of lame, and the last thing she wanted to come off as in front of her was lame, and without thinking about it, it was important to Karolina that she didn’t look lame in front of Nico, who had only gotten cooler in her eyes. “I got this idea suddenly to take off my bracelet. I’m 16 years old and never have, it’s weird. You don’t know how sick of being the weird Gib girl I am. Anyway, when I took it off I started to glow.” Karolina stopped there and bit her lip, anxious to gauge Nico’s reaction to her words.

“What? Do you mean like a pregnant lady?” The goth asked, confusion written all over her face.

“No, like…lights, just a whole spectrum of these pretty sparkly colors like a rainbow, but prettier. That’s the last thing I remember before I passed out, my lights.” When she was finished, Karolina folded her hands in her lap to quell the anxiousness bubbling up inside of her, wanting so bad for her to just get it. 

“Okay, I get it.” Nico told her, not at all believing Karolina’s bullshit. 

The surprise that Nico so easily accepted what Karolina said was written all over her face, she even smiled, “You do? Wow that was easy.”

“Yeah, you’re a shitty liar. I suggest you figure out something better to tell your folks before you go home.”

Karolina deflated, “No, Nico I’m serious!”

“You’re serious? You glow? Okay, then let’s see it. Glow right now.” The shorter girl challenged, arms crossed.

“What like now now? I don-- what if I can’t? I don’t know how it happened, it just happened.”

“Just do what you did before. Take off your bracelet.” It was more than obvious that Nico didn’t expect anything to happen; she thought she was just calling the taller girl’s bluff. So when Karolina did as she was urged and she began to illuminate after removing her bracelet, Nico’s jaw practically dropped open, “Holy shit, you’re glowing.”  
Karolina wanted to be smug, which would be kind of rude, but Nico had been rude first, so the way she saw it, she would be totally justified. She wanted to be, but the way Nico looked at her, like she was some great wonder of the world it made Karolina feel… amazing. Normally, she didn’t like eyes on her; at school it made her feel like a freak and at Gibborim functions it made her feel like someone she wasn’t, Ironically, despite finding herself in a pretty freaky situation, the eyes on her made her feel like something Karolina couldn’t quite verbalize yet, but it was very good, and it made her blush. 

“Is this real?” Nico asked her, finding her words after she wasn’t sure how long. She kept her eyes on Karolina. 

“Yeah.” Karo said, still pretty amazed herself, but for the moment, her eyes weren’t on her own skin, “Are you afraid?” 

“Are you still you?” Like a moth to a flame, Nico moved closer, slowly drawing her hand near Karolina’s. In turn, Karolina nodded. 

“Then I’m good. Not afraid. Does it hurt? Can I touch you?” The question made Nico blush. It was silly, but even with her former friend glowing in front of her she was still a teenager, and there wasn’t an innuendo in the world she wouldn’t involuntarily point out. 

“No, it doesn’t hurt. It actually feels really good. Kinda warm.” Karolina reached out and pressed her palm against Nico’s. It was the shorter girl who took it a step further and threaded their fingers. 

“I uh…I think I should…” Reluctantly, Karolina let go of Nico’s hand and slipped her bracelet back on. “It takes a lot out of me I guess.” She explained, and she wasn’t lying, she really had felt a bit faint, not as much as last time, as the fatigue had hit her suddenly. Really she needed to not be holding Nico’s hand anymore, her heart felt like it was about to jackhammer right out of her chest, and all things considered, that could be literally. 

“What are you?” Nico asked as she took it upon herself to gingerly lay Karolina back down. 

“I’ve been asking myself that a lot lately. And now I have a whole other layer to add to it.” She let out, her tone hollow and slightly bitter. “To be announced I guess.” 

“Well whatever you are… we can start figuring it out tomorrow. I told my mom you were spending the night. She was surprised, but didn’t ask too many questions. She said she’d let your mom know.” Nico explained as she climbed over Karolina and into bed. She wasn’t tired, but Karolina was so she thought it would be best to call it a night even though she really wanted to see the lights again. 

_Whoever said that you couldn’t improve upon perfection just got bitch slapped by Karolina Dean without her even trying._

Nico’s train of thought was interrupted by Karolina’s voice. It was low, and honestly, as far as Nico could tell, she was well on her way to being asleep already, “Nico?” 

“Yeah?” Karolina was turned away from her, so Nico was talking to her back.  
“Do you think I’m weird now?”

It was easy to hear the fear in her voice, which was surprising since Nico was sure that Karolina could care less about what she thought of her after she’d dropped her the way she had. 

“Yeah. But your weird is rad.” Nico told her in the same manner she’d tell someone what day of the week it was. 

“Oh.” The tone of Karolina’s voice made it clear she wasn’t expecting Nico to say that, or the way her stomach flipped hearing it. “Cool. Goodnight, Nico.” 

“Goodnight, Karo. Try not to bulldoze me out of the bed. 

Karolina didn’t respond, but when she fell asleep that night, she did it with a small smile on her face. 

 

Karolina Dean did not miss Nico Minoru. But she missed this.


End file.
